Field



(No Mode.)`

T." P. BUTTERFIBLD.

WASHING MACHINE.

No. 514,703. Patented Feb. 13.1894.

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f UNITED STATES PATENT .Errea 'FYRANNUS P. iUTTERFIELD, OF NORTHINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO MANVILLE W. BAKER, OF SAME PLACE.

WASHING-MACHINE.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 514,703, datedFebruary 13, 1894.

Application led November 29, 1893. Serial No. 492,327. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, TYRANNUs P. BUTTER- FIELD, a citizen of theUnitedStates, residing at North Indianapolis, in the county of Marion andState of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inWashingl Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, su ch as will enableothers skilled tween the entire rubbing face of the rubber and theclothes in order to expedite the washing and also to avoid over-rubbingof the clothes in parts.

I accomplish the objects of this invention by the mechanism illustratedin the accompanying drawings in which- .Figure 1 is a view inperspective of my complete machine. Fig. 2 is a view in side elevationshowing the near side partially broken away to show the construction andarrangement of the rubber, the gure shows the rocking rubber in dottedlines as it appears when thrown back to allow the operator to turn theclothes or to remove them or renew the supply. Fig. 3 is a detail inpartial transverse section of the suds box showing the rocking rubber asconstructed in three sections independently movable, and shows portionsof two of the sections broken awayy to better illustrate theconstruction. Fig. 4t

. is a detail in side elevation and sectioned, of

one of the pieces of the rocking rubber. Fig.`

5 is a detail showingV the construction of the rub-bars on the bottom ofthe suds box, and Fig. 6 is a detail showing the construction of the capfor closing the water outlet to the suds box.

Similar letters refer to like parts throughoutV the several views of thedrawings.

A is the suds box and is shown in the drawings as having wooden sidesand sheet metal' bottom, the metal being used on account of the facilitywith whichit can be bent to conform to the curved shape desired. One endof the machine will be provided with the board A which will present aconsiderable surface upon which the hand wash board A2 will be located,the said board extending only a por- 6o tion of the wayacross the widthof the machine so as to leave a space between the wash board and theside of the machine to be used as a soap receptacle. The cross strip a,will form a stop to keep the barof soap from sliding into the suds boxand will have a cut under portion to allow the water to drain into thebox. The suds box will be supported on the .legs A2 iu the usual manner.

B are the rub-bars to be located on the bot- 7o tom of the suds box andare corrugated strips of wood arranged transversely across the machine.These strips are separated by the blocks b, and the blocks and stripswill be held together by being strung upon the Wires 7 5 B', which wirespass through suitable holes in the ends of the strips and through theblocks as shown, thereby enabling the bottom rubbars all to bek takenout together, and to be handled as one piece when it is desired to re-8o move them in cleaning the machine.

C is a convex corrugated rubber pivotally secured to the sides of thesuds box so as to have a swinging movement by means of which 'theclothes which are placed between the up- 85 perA rubber C and the lowerrubber B are cleansed. The peculiar construction of this upper rubber Cby which it may adjust itself to the varying thickness of the clothes inthe Y machine constitutes the principal feature of 9o my invention andwill 110W bev particularly described: The rubbers proper are suspendedfrom a frame consisting of the side pieces C which are joined togetherat the top by the cross bar c, which cross bar also serves as a handleby which the operator grasps the frame to s'wingthe rubbers. The lowerends of the side pieces are held together by the cross bar c2 which alsoserves an additional purpose, as will be described farther on, and c isthe axle roo or pivot upon which the frame swings and consists of ahollow tube, preferably a piece of gas pipe, which is projected throughboth sides of the frame and projects a suitable distance on each side ofthe frame, or side pieces, to engage the sides of the suds box. A notchwill be cut in each side of the suds box into which the ends of the tubewill be dropped so as to hold the frame at a certain position in thebox. The upper rubbers will be secured to the two bars c and c2 and therubbers themselves will be made in independently movable sections, threebeing shown in the drawings although any other number may be adopted ifso desired. As shown in the drawings these sections will be constructedof the side pieces D', curved on their bottom sides to conform to thecurvature of the bottom of the suds box, and will have a series ofcorrugated strips D2 secured to the bottoms of the side pieces as shown.Each of the sections of the rubber will be provided with the radial slotD3 and will be attached to the pivoted frame, previously described, bypassing the two lower cross bars c and c2 through the slot in thesections as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. rlhe cross pin D7 above the bar c2will keep the sections from dropping off of the bars and the dept-h ofthe slot will regulate the height of the adjustment of the sections onthe frame. The sections will be weighted sufficiently heavy to give thedesired rubbing pressure on the clothes and will cause the rubbers todrop down sufficiently to always be in contact with the clothes, but onthe other hand will be free to move up again when the thickness of thegoods underneath the rubbers may require it, thus preventingr themachine from rubbing to excess on the highest place as would be the caseif the top rubber were a continuous and rigid surface as heretoforeused.

In practice the several sections of the rubber will preferably be made,either wholly or in part, of metal in order to give the needed weightand pressure and also to prevent the undue swelling of the severalsections, which, when made of wood swell up by the action of the steamand water to such an extent as to interfere wit-h the freedom ofmovement of the sections.

Passing through the tubular pivot C is an iron rod R, the ends of whichare bent back at right angles and extended to a point about midwaybetween the pivotal point of the :frame and the end of the machine nextthe operator, where the extreme ends are then again turned in at rightangles and are dropped into the slots a3 in the sides of the machinethus forming a double hinged connection of the frame with the suds boxand thereby enabling the rubbers to be thrown back and raised out of theway for convenience in reaching the clothes in the suds box. Theposition is shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 2.

M is the outlet through which the suds is withdrawn in changing thewater in the machine and will preferably be closed by the pivoted cap Nwhich is secured to the machine by the screw n, so it can be thrownaround to expose the opening. A rubber or leather packing secured to theinside of thev cap will make the closure water tight.

I claiml. In a washing machine a suds box having concave stationaryrub-bars on its bottom in combination with a rocking rubber pivotallysecured to the sides of the machine and having handle bars by which therubber may be vbrated, said rocking rubber beingr made in separatelymovable sections that will rise and fall automatically as the bulk ofclothes beneath such section is increased or diminished substantially asdescribed and lfor the purposes specified.

2. In a washing machine having a concave rubber on the bottom of thesuds box, the combination therewith of a rocking rubber pivotallysecured to the sides of the machine and constructed of the followingparts: the side pieces C', top cross piece c, tubular cross bar c'having projecting ends to form pivots by which the rubber will besuspended, and the cross bar c2, a rubber proper constructed of severalsections each of which sections are provided with a radial slot toreceive the cross bars c and c2 to control the movement of the sections,and cross pins D7 all for the purposes substantially as described andspeci fied.

3. In a washing machine having a rocking rubber, the tubular pivotextending from one side of the rubber to the other and forming a tie rodto connect the side pieces of the handle bar frameand projecting ateither end to form the pivots for the rubber and a rod projected throughthe tubular pivot and bent at right angles to form an arm, the extremeends of which will be removably pivoted to the frame of the machine forthe purposes specitied.

Intestimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

TYRANNUS I). BUTTERFIELD.

Vilnesses:

JOSEPH A. MINTURN, MANVILLE W. BAKER.

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